(

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Umetani) is a Japanese

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

Biography

She was born in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

the third daughter of

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

Michitora Umetani, head of a former ''

kuge The was a Japanese Aristocracy (class), aristocratic Social class, class that dominated the Japanese Imperial Court in Kyoto. The ''kuge'' were important from the establishment of Kyoto as the capital during the Heian period in the late 8th ce ...

'' family and Member of the House of Peers. She enrolled but later left

Gakushuin University is a private university in Mejiro, Toshima, Tokyo. The Gakushūin (or "Peers School") was established during the Meiji period to educate the children of the Japanese nobility, but back then the institution had only the primary and secondary ...

in 1961. She has been married to Sen'ei Ikenobō (池坊専永), the

Ikenobō is the oldest and largest school of ''ikebana'', the Japanese practice of giving plants and flowers invigorated new life. The Buddhist practice of Ikenobo has existed since the building of the Rokkaku-do temple. The actual organized school ins ...

family

patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and ...

, since 1963 and has two daughters, Yuki (池坊由紀), the next head of the family, and Mika (池坊美佳). She was elected to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

in the

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

(national legislature) for the first time in 1996 as a member of the New Frontier Party, which later split into several parties including the

New Komeito Party , formerly New Komeito (NKP) and commonly referred to as simply Komei, is a political party in Japan founded by the leader of Soka Gakkai, Daisaku Ikeda, in 1964. It is generally considered centrist and socially conservative. Since 2012, it ha ...

. She was a Komeito politician, but she was not a member of

Sōka Gakkai is a Japanese new religion led by Minoru Harada since December 2023 based on the teachings of the 13th-century Buddhist priest Nichiren. It claims the largest membership among Nichiren Buddhist groups. The organization bases its teachings on ...

as former Councillor

Kunihiro Tsuzuki Kunihiro (written: 邦弘, 邦博, 邦宏, 邦洋, 邦広, 国宏, 訓広 or 九仁広) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese animator *, Japanese film director *, Japanese swimmer *, Japanese voice ...

and Councillor Shozo Kusakawa. In 2022, she was appointed in the

Yokozuna Deliberation Council The , sometimes called Promotion Council, and usually abbreviated in Japanese as , is an advisory board, advisory body to the Japan Sumo Association. The council considers candidates for promotion to sumo's top rank of , before passing its reco ...

, hence being the second woman to be appointed in an organization linked to the

Japan Sumo Association The , officially the ; sometimes abbreviated JSA or NSK, and more usually called Sumo Kyōkai, is the governing body that operates and controls Professional sports, professional sumo wrestling, called , in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Min ...

References

Sources

External links

Official blog
in Japanese. 1942 births 20th-century Japanese women politicians 21st-century Japanese women politicians Women members of the House of Representatives (Japan) Gakushuin University alumni Kadōka Living people New Frontier Party (Japan) politicians New Komeito politicians Politicians from Tokyo Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2000–2003 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2003–2005 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2005–2009 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2009–2012 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 1996–2000 {{Japan-politician-1940s-stub